Jim, that definitely was an interesting read. It was great to see the progression from noob and the steps beyond to years later and all the various creations. Maybe someday I'll write my own (though mine is more scattered around with some gaps in it, a bit less interesting imo, etc). Well, it's at least something to think about. Great post though.

My experimenting usually comes from going down the meat isle at my local grocery store and picking up something I've never cooked before. I tried shark not to long ago, which was decent, but pretty fishy. But I always find it fun If I can pick up something new and exciting.

I also like trying to make my own marinades by just mixing whatever the heck I can together and seeing what kind of flavor I can get

Here's another way to experiment if you've got a bunch of marinades or rubs you want to try out - make kebabs.

I recently got a bunch of Steven's rubs and spice pastes from his new Planet Barbecue line, and I wanted to try them out. The problem was that I was a bit short on meat and I was cooking for one so cooking up a whole bunch of meat was out of the question.

My solution? I skinned and deboned a bunch of chicken thighs and cut them in half lengthwise, then marinated a couple of strips in each marinade. A few hours later I threaded them on flat skewers and cooked about a dozen kebabs - two with each spice paste (8 in total) and four individual kebabs with one of Steven's new rubs apiece.

This was a really good way of testing a number of rubs and marinades at once, plus I had a few extras for lunch the next day.

Incidentally, if you get a chance to try Steven's new Planet Barbecue marinades and rubs I recommend you do so. His Malaysian spice paste is excellent on chicken and pork, and his Jamaican paste is the best commercial jerk marinade I've ever tried (and that's really saying something).

Unlike propane, you'll never wake up scorched and naked in another county because you mishandled a bag of briquettes.

I am not conventional - I am an experimenter. If something sounds good to me, I will try it. I have a collection of over 40 books on barbecue & grilling - I've read all of them, reread many of them, and refer to them often. I have followed many recipes exactly - I have taken many and changed something here or there. I HAVE PICKLED PISTACHIOS! I make a very good barbecued cheesecake. I usually do not keep records of my cooks - I have so much info available to me that I doubt that I'd go back and look at them - to me no two cooks will be exactly the same anyway - I doubt very highly that conditions, ingredients, or other factors can be exactly duplicated. Sometimes some things turn out better than others. I guess I'm lucky - the only real complaint I've ever had about my cooking, barbecue, or grilling is "You should have made more."